Hope Squad speaks on suicide prevention

By Alice Wadley
Staff Writer

The Hope Squad of Carbon and Emery County hosted Spring for Hope at Miller’s Landing in Huntington.
The Hope Squad is a grass roots organization dedicated to educating the public on suicide prevention, reaching out to support individuals and families, increasing community awareness and connecting those in need to appropriate resources.
The Hope Squad of Carbon and Emery County has been around for over five years and consists of volunteers in all genres of life. Debbie Marvidikis and Kathy Donathan work at the Health Department, where monthly meetings are held.
Steve Elliason was the guest speaker for the evening. The video, I jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge was shown. Since 1937, 2,000 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Only one percent survive the fall. A majority of the survivors will never go on to commit suicide. One man shared his story, he said after jumping off the bridge it was instant regret. “After I jumped I realized I didn’t want to die. I just wanted the pain to go away.”
A barrier is being built to prevent people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Limiting access to means of suicide saves lives. In other suicide “hot spots” where barriers have been established the suicide rate has gone down dramatically.
Takeaways from the video are, talking saves lives. Ask the person directly if they are thinking about suicide. Asking someone if they are thinking about suicide doesn’t make them more prone to commit suicide. It doesn’t put the idea of committing suicide into their minds.
Almost everyone who wants to commit suicide just wants the pain to go away. The pain at the time is unbearable and there seems to be no other way to make it go away.
Suicide is a health issue just like heart disease. There shouldn’t be a stigma around suicide and mental illnesses. You should get treatment like any other medical condition.
You can prevent suicide by talking to people and having conversations about suicide.
You should also limit means of suicide, one way is to limit access to firearms by using gun locks or securing them in a safe or cabinet.
Some statistics on suicide. Over 800,000 people die every year from suicide. Every 40 seconds someone dies from suicide. Twenty-two veterans a day commit suicide. Last year 600 Utahns commited suicide. It has increased over the last five years and it continues to increase. Between the ages of 10-18 suicide is the leading cause of death. Each suicide leaves behind 100 people. It impacts the entire community. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. For every suicide, 25 others attempt suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. In 2014, 42,773 died from suicide. Suicide has an economic impact of 51 billion per year in the United States.
Why do people take their own lives? There is no single cause, but rather multiple intersecting factors. Nine out of 10 people who commit suicide have a mental health condition contributing to their death. Often it is undiagnosed. The brains of those who die by suicide differ from those who die from other causes in both structure and function. Most people who die by suicide are ambivalent about death.
There are many risk factors for suicide, health factors include: mental health conditions, depression, bipolar, anxiety disorder, personality disorder, Psychosis and substance abuse.
Historical factors include: family history of suicide, family history of mental health conditions, childhood abuse and previous suicide attempts.
Environmental factors include: exposure/contagion, prolonged stress, a stressful life event, access to lethal means.
One in four people will suffer from a mental health condition and most do not go on to commit suicide.
Protective factors against suicide are to seek mental health care, seek family and community support, rely on cultural and religious beliefs.
Only two out of every five with a mental health condition seek treatment. We need a culture where everyone needs to know to be smart about mental health. Take care of your mental health. Make mental health a priority. See a doctor or health care professional. Get an evaluation. Discuss treatment options. Find what works best for you. The law requires insurance plans to cover mental health services the same as physical services.
There are warning signs of suicide. Some people will talk about ending their lives saying, they have no reason to live, they are a burden to others, they feel trapped and they are in unbearable pain.
Suicidal behavior is increased with the use of alcohol or drugs. Insomnia, acting recklessly, withdrawing from activities, isolating from family and friends, looking for a way to kill themselves, giving away possessions are also behaviors associated with suicide.
If you think someone is suicidal trust your instincts. Assume you are the only one who is going to reach out. Reach out, talk to them in private, listen to their story, express concern and caring, ask directly about suicide, encourage them to seek mental health services. Avoid minimizing their feelings. Avoid trying to convince them life is worth living. Avoid advice to fix it. If you think they might attempt soon, stay with them, help them secure or remove lethal means, escort them to mental health services. We can create a culture that’s smart about mental health and suicide prevention.
Elliason also spoke about the need to secure your firearms. Eighty-six 86 percent of firearm deaths in Utah are suicides. Puting time and distance between a suicidal person and a gun may save a life. Some may think a suicidal person may find other means to commit suicide. This may be true, but firearms are the most deadly way to commit suicide. Nearly anything else is less likely to kill. Others means may delay a suicide attempt. Either way the odds of survival go up because suicide crisis situations are often brief and the deadliness of an attempt depends on the means used. Ninety percent of those who attempt suicide and survive don’t go on to kill themselves.
People admitted to a hospital after a suicide attempt were asked how long they’d been thinking about suicide before they made a suicide attempt, 40 percent of the people said 10 minutes or less. Most people who become suicidal have struggled with underlying problems. But the movement from suicidal idea to action is sometimes rapid.
Having access to a firearm during a suicidal crisis increases the odds that a person attempting suicide will die.
We can protect one another. Be alert to the signs of suicide in friends and family. If someone is at risk, help keep guns away from them until they recover. It’s like holding a friends keys when they have been drinking.
Who is at risk for suicide? People who struggle with depression, substance abuse, or other mental health problem, especially if they are also facing a crisis like a relationship break-up. arrest, trouble at work, or financial crisis, problems that make you feel hopeless or trapped.
Teens who die by suicide may show few to no warning signs. A precaution is to lock and secure all access to firearms from your children, especially teenagers.
If a household member is at risk for suicide, you could store guns away from your home until they’ve recovered. Change the locks and make sure they can’t find the keys or combination. Hiding guns isn’t recommended family members often know one anothers hiding places. If a friend is at risk offer to hold their guns.
If you feel yourself spiraling down, take precautions before things get to a crisis point. Any strategy that builds time between you and a gun in a suicidal crisis will keep you safer. Store your guns off site temporarily or ask someone you trust to hold the keys or store keys somewhere they are not available in a crisis like a safe deposit box.
Under the Utah Safe Harbor law a gun owner or spouse can store their firearms free of charge with law enforcement if they believe someone at home is a danger to themselves or others.
If you are thinking about committing suicide, talk to someone. Don’t wait for someone to reach out. Seek mental health treatment or tell your health care provider about your suicidal thinking. You can call the the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. There is an app you can download called SafeUT. It provides 24/7 crisis intervention and emotional help.
If you are concerned about someone committing suicide ask them directly about suicide. Take the person seriously and help them get the help they need. You can call the suicide hotline. Don’t rule out calling 911. If you or someone you know is in a life threatening emergency or in immediate danger of harming themselves, call 911. You can find out more by visiting, utahsuicideprevention.org.